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Next you're gonna tell me that I shouldn't be piling up mass quantities of the stuff in a port warehouse smack dab in the center of a large densely populated city along with some fireworks.
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May 11, 2022 23:10
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aphid_licker posted:Next you're gonna tell me that I shouldn't be piling up mass quantities of the stuff in a port warehouse smack dab in the center of a large densely populated city along with some fireworks. That's totally fine, just make sure you weld the doors shut to ensure there's no theft.
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May 11, 2022 23:11
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bulletsponge13 posted:Having talked with vets of the Iraq Iran War on both sides, from Jundi to Generals, and I can't believe they stood at all. That poo poo was a modernized WW1 horrowshow, and it is ignored by the West. That sounds like a fascinating set of conversations and I’d encourage you to post more about them.
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May 11, 2022 23:18
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Well it involves turning a swamp into a bugzapper for humans so....
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May 11, 2022 23:24
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Cythereal posted:More images of the aftermath of that battle. So, I'm very much posting from the armchair here, but this feels like the kind of operation you absolutely should not be attempting anywhere within hostile artillery range, right??? The Ukrainian air force is constrained in its operations and I imagine you can get AA coverage around to make it too dangerous to approach, but my understanding is that the only way to not get hit by artillery is to not be where artillery is landing (either because you aren't where they can reach, or they can't see you, or there's not enough of you to be worth shooting at).
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May 11, 2022 23:26
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Voyager I posted:So, I'm very much posting from the armchair here, but this feels like the kind of operation you absolutely should not be attempting anywhere within hostile artillery range, right??? bad news on the last one: Soldiers are more expensive than shells. As for whether or not you should try to make a bridgehead on a contested river, the mission dictates what you do. Obviously no one wants to do it, but if you HAVE to, you come with lots of your own artillery on your own side of the river to suppress the enemy and perform counterbattery fires. You ideally want air support covering your crossing until you have an effective bridgehead in place. It's obvious that none of that happened. They were told to bridge, they were told where to bridge, and were expected to do it without real support because combined arms is hard. A.o.D. fucked around with this message at 23:32 on May 11, 2022 |
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May 11, 2022 23:28
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The whole war is like fought on the skill level of me playing a grog strategy game only I would've ragequit and decided to try and get a Steam refund about three days in
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May 11, 2022 23:35
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Cythereal posted:More images of the aftermath of that battle. Jesus. That's like a whole axis of attack that will never take place. A whole Ukrainian village or suburb that will avoid destruction in the near future.
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May 11, 2022 23:39
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Stravag posted:Well it involves turning a swamp into a bugzapper for humans so.... Go on…. I actually do recall reading something about the Iraqi’s electrifying swampland to counter Iranian human wave assaults.
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May 11, 2022 23:39
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pantslesswithwolves posted:That sounds like a fascinating set of conversations and I’d encourage you to post more about them. It was mostly casual conversations. But for being an OG Republican Guard General, dude took absolutely no insult to have PFC Bulletsponge talking to him as an equal. I wish I could remember more details, but a former RG general became a BN level intelligence asset, even acting as a double agent with Fedayeen Saddam. Hardcore dude. We were tasked with a raid to arrest him for providing enemy intelligence, which we had gotten from bad HUMINT. We ended up invited in. His wife brought us cake- even taking some out to our gunners. Had tea and a conversation through brokem languages and a terp. Why did you retire? "I lost two wars. I wasn't good at it." Dude commanded units in Iraq Iran War (which he refused to talk much about) and in Desert Storm. He loved talking about fighting us. Basically loved the fact that he was outclassed, and fighting the best. Said he couldn't believe how low level our tactical decisions are made, that Jundi are allowed to voice opinion, and direct actions. My third tour, I met a few MEK who fought for Iran in the 'first Gulf War'. "The M60! The Tank? I loved it! Plink! T72." He liked much less defending an infantry assault with a Garand. "Like ants! I got a G3 after that. And a 1911." Dude was intense. E- gotta share this. "You have a lovely family, sir." "Yes, and two single daughters. Are you married, Bulletsponge?" Daughters giggle from the stairs. There was a 2 second processing time as we realized what he meant. If i think of more, I'll share them. My personal favorite was a Baghdad local asking me in early summer 03 where I had been. I mentioned a city where we hit a spot of bother. "Ah! Yes! I was there!" ::visibly tenses:: "You kicked our asses. I'm not a soldier." bulletsponge13 fucked around with this message at 00:10 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 00:05
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aphid_licker posted:The whole war is like fought on the skill level of me playing a grog strategy game only I would've ragequit and decided to try and get a Steam refund about three days in I'm just a dumbass flailing half-heartedly at a war sim, what's the career Russian generals' excuse?
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May 12, 2022 00:14
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A.o.D. posted:Look, of course it isn't weird that there's a lot of fertilizer in farming country. All I'm saying is that giant orange toxic cloud might suggest that keeping a trainload of the stuff in range of enemy artillery and/or drones is a demonstrably bad idea. yeah it's gonna make a slightly bigger hole in the train tracks than one of those tiny rear end 1kg sapper charges Cugel the Clever posted:Yeah, now that you say it, I'm having some rough flashbacks to the short time I spent with Grigsby's War in the East. Woops, funneled too many troops into a low logistics area and suddenly no one can move. Woops, mounted an offensive that ignored terrain and got my elite troops slaughtered. Woops, failed to understand how air assets work and got pounded by the enemy. "I had to sell the optics, my mistress wanted a nicer coat" Herstory Begins Now fucked around with this message at 00:17 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 00:15
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bulletsponge13 posted:It was mostly casual conversations. But for being an OG Republican Guard General, dude took absolutely no insult to have PFC Bulletsponge talking to him as an equal. I wish I could remember more details, but a former RG general became a BN level intelligence asset, even acting as a double agent with Fedayeen Saddam. Hardcore dude. We were tasked with a raid to arrest him for providing enemy intelligence, which we had gotten from bad HUMINT. I got to talk to people like this at ntc and it was a pretty great experience. I recall hearing from someone about how they were a tank commander in the 1st Iraq war and lost near half his company in the span of a few minutes. Good people and I still feel bad for the things that happened to Iraqis, I still would like to go back to and see Iraq as a tourist this time if that's ever a reasonable thing.
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May 12, 2022 00:40
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Here's a thread on how that disastrous bridgehead went down from a guy that claims to be the architect of it on the Ukrainian side. Of special note is a Ukrainian officer issuing orders as complicated as "Here's the problem, handle it." Something that just doesn't happen in the Russian system. https://twitter.com/kms_d4k/status/1524506104192974849
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May 12, 2022 01:12
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Pine Cone Jones posted:I got to talk to people like this at ntc and it was a pretty great experience. I recall hearing from someone about how they were a tank commander in the 1st Iraq war and lost near half his company in the span of a few minutes. Good people and I still feel bad for the things that happened to Iraqis, I still would like to go back to and see Iraq as a tourist this time if that's ever a reasonable thing. I loved the Iraqi people. I loved the culture, the food, everything. I hated what was happening, but you can only do so much as a kid addicted to combat and at the lowest level of a war run by businessmen. I yearn to go back. I can still remember the way to shura; I still remember half the alleys and unlabeled roads that ran through Al Bayaa and Am Sadiya. I still remember being welcomed when I was an Invader, an interloper. I remember how forgiving the people were that we were stuck into a impossible situation. That stupid little camp we lived in, where the kids would throw rocks at us while we poo poo, where they'd laugh as we angrily chased them. That stupid little camp was the first place that ever felt like home to me. I remember being told through literature and words, that when you go to war, you don't get to come home again. That war inherently changes you in a way that skews your world. What they don't say is sometimes that home is the war and once you leave, the spell is broken. Those walls decorated with the debris of martial art, earth toned and warm becomes just a place you used to live, your first apartment that burned down, now a different shoe in the same footprint. I miss the war. I miss combat. But more than all that, I miss Iraq.
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May 12, 2022 01:18
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psydude posted:Hey, I'm not going to debate you on any of that, but it sure looks like Russia is finding themselves in a similar situation at the moment, albeit as the invader instead of the defender. If nothing else at least Iraq had the excuse of having had all their C2 destroyed by the enemy, Russia was plucking random BTGs from all over the place and trying to pretend that was compatible with having any kind of higher command structure at all before they even kicked this thing off E: Bulletsponge I really hope you write a book someday shame on an IGA fucked around with this message at 01:54 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 01:50
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A.o.D. posted:Here's a thread on how that disastrous bridgehead went down from a guy that claims to be the architect of it on the Ukrainian side. Wild enough to see an operation like this posted about in detail by someone involved, he then goes on to ask for supplies and support, whether material now or financial for his life after the war. Crazy. Most striking to me is the mention of aviation assisting in the defense. Once again, where were Russian air defenses? Did they try an opposed river crossing without any? Was it already blown up? Was it too far back? Did it get knocked out by artillery in the opening phases? Did the Ukrainians SEAD the poo poo out of it? Are we talking fixed wing, rotary, or uav? I'm just curious as hell.
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May 12, 2022 02:03
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bulletsponge13 posted:I loved the Iraqi people. I loved the culture, the food, everything. I hated what was happening, but you can only do so much as a kid addicted to combat and at the lowest level of a war run by businessmen. I hope that there is a time where you find yourself in a place where you're ready and interested in writing a book about your experience.
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May 12, 2022 02:04
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Arrath posted:Wild enough to see an operation like this posted about in detail by someone involved, he then goes on to ask for supplies and support, whether material now or financial for his life after the war. Crazy. You're asking questions that can only be answered by people who aren't in this thread and haven't publicly commented on those specifics.
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May 12, 2022 02:16
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Fearless posted:I hope that there is a time where you find yourself in a place where you're ready and interested in writing a book about your experience. "Now he's just an old man that no one believes Says he's a gunfighter, the last of the breed..." I've had a few people say the same. I just don't get it. I'm just an old man who gets kicks of spicy memories from a youth spent on an edge I never saw. I don't think I did much interesting, or worth reading about outside of some fun and nostalgic anecdotes. I treated war as a live fire larp. On my end, I spent my entire life in pursuit of a craft that can't be mastered, to learn lessons I can't teach, to do a job I can't do.
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May 12, 2022 02:16
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bulletsponge13 posted:"Now he's just an old man that no one believes Maybe that’s true, but it’s sure as hell gonna be a good read if you write it like that. Just write a collection of anecdotes, maybe have a guiding narrative, or just different things from different times.
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May 12, 2022 02:21
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A.o.D. posted:Here's a thread on how that disastrous bridgehead went down from a guy that claims to be the architect of it on the Ukrainian side. https://twitter.com/kms_d4k/status/1524506240386314240  The kids today really have a good feel for what people are after.
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May 12, 2022 02:47
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bulletsponge13 posted:"Now he's just an old man that no one believes I think just the positives about the people and place as we get out from gwot would be good to have out there. A cool story isn't gone until noone remembers it. It may not keep us from doing the same stupid poo poo as a nation next time, but maybe some kid reads it before he goes over for operation useless dirt III and it keeps him from pulling a trigger when he doesnt have to. You wont know, the people he may have shot wouldnt know, hell he may even know. Its never a bad thing to spread the message that other people are still people. Or it could just be a way for you to make sure the good memories fade less easily. Anytime you're upset about stuff you can't change read some of the good things you did or saw.
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May 12, 2022 03:04
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Arrath posted:Wild enough to see an operation like this posted about in detail by someone involved, he then goes on to ask for supplies and support, whether material now or financial for his life after the war. Crazy. NY Times published an interview with a Ukrainian pilot a while back. It sounds like they operate from dispersed bases, fly low and fast, and get out before the Russians can organize a response. As long as Russian planes are in the area, SAMs will hesitate to fire. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/world/europe/ukraine-air-force-russia.html?smid=url-copy
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May 12, 2022 03:18
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NightGyr posted:NY Times published an interview with a Ukrainian pilot a while back. It sounds like they operate from dispersed bases, fly low and fast, and get out before the Russians can organize a response. As long as Russian planes are in the area, SAMs will hesitate to fire. That's pretty much the same way the Serbs were still flying fixed-wing sorties well after they were supposed to be out of the picture.
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May 12, 2022 03:50
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Will Ukraine bomb and fire upon targets inside Russian borders? Sure. But they won't move troops in or try to hold territory. There's no point. Ukraine doesn't want Russian territory, they want Ukraine. i, for one, support ukraine blowing up the kerch strait bridge bonus if they can make a new denomination of hryvnia banknote featuring that on one side and the snake island quote on the other
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May 12, 2022 05:00
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bulletsponge13 posted:"Now he's just an old man that no one believes On the contrary, I think your insights on the mind of someone that went to war and has subsequently spent a lot of time making sense of what happened to them and what their place is in the world is very much something that is relevant, unique and interesting. Speaking from the perspective of a practising mental health professional, the journey and means by which people heal and grow in the aftermath of an experience like war is tremendously interesting, far moreso than the operational histories or other forms of traditional military history. But it can also be true that sometimes we do things that truly only make sense to ourselves and in the context of our own lives and there simply aren't the words to fully explain the why of that to another person. I think the work you've put in to understanding what has happened to you is remarkable, but it's also ok if you don't want to write that out, in other words.
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May 12, 2022 05:45
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Sir John Falstaff posted:Yeah, I've found it useful. It's important to be careful about the numbers, though--this is just one example; a tank BTG might have more tanks, less IFVs or whatever. Also, apparently some BTGs were deployed understrength, but also there have been reinforcements. And the separatist forces, etc. probably complicate things further. Point is, it's not really possible to say that Russia deployed X number of BTGs, each BTG has about Y number of troops/tanks/etc., therefore Russia had Z total troops/tanks/etc. (Not directing this at you personally, to be clear; just that people have tried using these kinds of figures in the past to estimate Russian troop strength and it doesn't really work that way.) I noticed that the BTG seems to be very mission specific, or more likely 'what we have on hand that works' at this point in the conflict.
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May 12, 2022 05:51
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bulletsponge13 posted:"Now he's just an old man that no one believes You don't have to write with intent to publish, or even to share with anyone. But in 20 years you'll thank yourself when everyone else has trouble recalling so much as the name of half the people in their unit. And if you take some measures to preserve it, memoirs from the lowest levels that cover all aspects of the experience are an incredibly valuable way for someone to gain an insight into the times.
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May 12, 2022 06:18
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bulletsponge13 posted:"Now he's just an old man that no one believes Seriously, the way you describe your time in Iraq is one of the first times I've read some talking about being a human being who was sent to live among other human beings in a nation called Iraq. A lot of people here talk about going through some serious poo poo there and I absolutely believe them. You manage to talk about the place in a way that hammers home that this is just another city just like the ones we live in and its just people just like the ones in our daily civilian lives. You make it feel like reality instead of a warped mirror world where youth and dreams go to die.
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May 12, 2022 06:23
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A.o.D. posted:You're asking questions that can only be answered by people who aren't in this thread and haven't publicly commented on those specifics. I get that, but can't help but be curious. And in this terminally online hellwar, who knows? Maybe some OSINT wonk on Twitter tracked down drone footage of a Pantsir or the like getting schwacked by a drone, and geolocated it to nearby the bridging op, or helmet footage from a Ukrainian helicopter strafing the bridge, that kinda thing. I have a pipe dream, okay. NightGyr posted:NY Times published an interview with a Ukrainian pilot a while back. It sounds like they operate from dispersed bases, fly low and fast, and get out before the Russians can organize a response. As long as Russian planes are in the area, SAMs will hesitate to fire. Great interview, thanks!
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May 12, 2022 06:24
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Open question Did anyone ever train with Russians? Those joint exercises seemed to happen a surprising amount in the early 2000s
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May 12, 2022 06:33
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SerthVarnee posted:You manage to talk about the place in a way that hammers home that this is just another city just like the ones we live in and its just people just like the ones in our daily civilian lives. I’m team please write that poo poo and this is why. The lived urban experience is so loving interesting to me, and we need as many primary sources as we can get.
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May 12, 2022 07:26
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Not that it's a surprise at this point, given all the unofficial statements and prep work, but the President and PM of Finland just released a joint statement that ends with "Finnish President and PM posted:Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. E: They've been very careful not to officially state their stance so far to "give space for domestic discussions", so this would indicate that those discussions are now over. E2: And the FDF just posted this an hour prior to the PM's statement: The Utti Jaeger Regiment will arrange a bilateral exercise with the USA to be held in Finland from 13 May to 5 June 2022, which seems like a rather convenient timing. Loezi fucked around with this message at 08:50 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 08:22
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Alan Smithee posted:Open question Not personally, but when I was a young A1C, one of my NCOs told me about some kind of friendship tour thing his squadron had done in Russia in the early '00s, back when he was junior enlisted. He said his Russian counterparts were drinking nonstop throughout, and to be polite, his team was told to rotate a handful of their own USAF guys as the drinkers each day, so whenever the Russians wanted to do a round, there would always be at least a couple of Americans to drink with them and they wouldn't feel slighted. Over the course of a week, he and one of the Russian airmen gradually traded uniform items, until he ended up with a complete Russian uniform. Alas, his story consisted entirely of drinking and acquiring Russian gear, so I have no idea what their technical skills were like, but it was also 20 years ago so for better or for worse, probably different from what's on display now.
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May 12, 2022 08:25
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Loezi posted:Not that it's a surprise at this point, given all the unofficial statements and prep work, but the President and PM of Finland just released a joint statement that ends with If the PM is co-signing the statement, I'm guessing it's a good bet that Parliament is already on board. Side note - can we all agree that Finland's PM, Sanna Marin, has displaced Justin Trudeau for the title of hottest world leader?
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May 12, 2022 09:12
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psydude posted:If the PM is co-signing the statement, I'm guessing it's a good bet that Parliament is already on board. There's a bit of uncertainty whether the ratification would theoretically require a simple majority or a 2/3 majority in the parliament. The latter is needed in cases of a non-trivial transfer of sovereignty to an international body. Think joining the EU. Joining NATO probably doesn't count, but there's no precedent to rely on, as this part of the constitution was rewritten in only 2012. There's a Constitutional Law Committee that decides in the end, but they can only say what they think once they have the actual paperwork in front of them. Based on newspapers calling up MPs, it's something like 140 for, 10 against, 50 neutral/no comment at the moment. Earlier this year, a bunch of MPs were essentially going "Yes, but only if the Pres/PM think it's a good idea," no idea how they answered the latest polls. But given both the joint statement above and the fact that the parliamentary Defense Committee came out yesterday(?) saying "NATO membership would be the best defensive solution for Finland", I'd assume a lot of the neutrals can be counted into the "pro joining" column.
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May 12, 2022 09:36
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Loezi posted:There's a bit of uncertainty whether the ratification would theoretically require a simple majority or a 2/3 majority in the parliament. The latter is needed in cases of a non-trivial transfer of sovereignty to an international body. Think joining the EU. Joining NATO probably doesn't count, but there's no precedent to rely on, as this part of the constitution was rewritten in only 2012. There's a Constitutional Law Committee that decides in the end, but they can only say what they think once they have the actual paperwork in front of them. is there a  that's more of a  , because
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May 12, 2022 10:10
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Loezi posted:Not that it's a surprise at this point, given all the unofficial statements and prep work, but the President and PM of Finland just released a joint statement that ends with Ends on 5 June? I wonder if someone has something planned on the 6th?
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May 12, 2022 10:52
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Who is currently capturing ground faster? Ukrainian counterattacks in the far north/south or the Russian push from Izyum?psydude posted:Side note - can we all agree that Finland's PM, Sanna Marin, has displaced Justin Trudeau for the title of hottest world leader?
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May 12, 2022 11:10
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